Giant scorpions

[alexi]

Just a fun fact:
about 500 million years ago, one of the first animals on the planet were aquatic scorpions that were a meter long! They were called bronto scorpions. There was supposedly an even bigger one that was 3m long, but I don't think it actually looked all that much like a scorpion.

 

[Aztek]

Yes, as scorpion lovers, many of us knew that.


Here's a vid.

[YOUTUBE]uBSfp0m89v4[/YOUTUBE]

 

[alexi]

yeah that's actually the doc i saw. its really cool.

 

[LeilaNami]

Historically, scorpions evolved from having forward facing eyes and jaws with teeth.
http://www.monsterlandtoys.com/video/Black Scorpion - WB.jpg











...lol

 

[calum]

It was sad when the Sea sorpion got eaten. but it was by and even bigger one, so that's ok.

 

[Mr. Mordax]

It bothers me when people call these things scorpions. Precursors to scorpions, yes; scorpions, no.

An entomologist I know has a fossil of one; it's about a foot long.

 

[pandinus]

It bothers me when people call these things scorpions. Precursors to scorpions, yes; scorpions, no.

An entomologist I know has a fossil of one; it's about a foot long.

the brontoscorpio IS actually considered a primitive scorpion, the sea scorpions however belong to an ancestral group called eurypterids



John

 

[winter_in_tears]

doesn't matter who says what and whoppty doo.

They are still scorpions.

 

[Mr. Mordax]

They are still scorpions.

Uh, no. No they're not.


Sea scorpions:

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Eurypterida


Modern scorpions:

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Subclass: Dromopoda
Order: Scorpiones


Same subphylum, but that's it.

 

[Galapoheros]

Ha!, that's a possible hunting scenario for these animals but you have to realize there's a lot of speculation when it come to how they behaved. Nobody knows because there's no history except for fossils, so "they" can tell you anything. Conclusions in science change over and over again, I read and listen to things but I've also learned to wait for the next answer. I mean they came up with a good scenario and I'm sure they based it on their design but the short story was told like "that's how it was", but we don't really know. You know they may discover some day that something like that still exists deep in the ocean, they find new stuff pretty often.

 

[pandinus]

mordax is right, the sea scorpions were eurypterids, but the brontoscorpio was one of the first true scorpions, so the video actually shows both. even though brontoscorpio was aquatic it was not actually a sea scorpion, and the true scorpions actually went a long time before moving out onto land


John